Year Of Truth Spinoff
by Lily Rose Potter
Summary: If you've read Year of Truth, what would have happened if Ginny had died? WARNING slash Starts in Ch28 of YoT
1. Chapter One

Disclaimer- Dare to Dream Words and music by- Paul Begaud, Vanessa Cerish, and Wayne Tester. Arranged by- Teena Chinn. Author of this fanfiction takes no credit for this song. She simply sang it in school and found that it fit the story. No money is being made from the printing of these lyrics. (A/N This starts right after chapter 37. It's mostly chapter 38, with a different ending. I promise that I won't work on this in favor of my original. There will be a chapter for that for at least every addition to this. Slash warning.)  
  
It was unlike the pull that he had often felt from Sally. This was more, and then on the other side, was Ginny, pulling at him even harder. He ran out of the forest, and then stopped. There was a direction to the pull, yes. But it wasn't toward the school. It was back into the forest. He ran under the invisibility cloak along the edge of the forest until the pulling was directly in front of him. Then he stopped, breathing hard, and looked around. To his right, there was a small path. He would have never seen it had he not been looking. He followed it, and as he got farther into the forest the path became wider and more obvious. 'I'm so stupid! This is right where Wormtail was heading when he took Randy! I should have known he'd be dumb enough to follow the same path. I should have followed him. I should have- What if he disappears after he's off school grounds? Ginny... He put on another burst of speed. Making up his mind in a heart beat, he tried something that he had only read as a theory in his text books. He pulled slightly on his magical energy, and applied it to his body. He sped up, faster then he had ever been able to run before. Breathing became easier. His body wasn't depending on oxygen as much, now it had magic to help it run. It could possibly kill him, but no, nothing could. Only the one he was running toward.  
  
She wanted to scream. She knew she was too far away by now for it to do any good, but just hearing her own voice would have been nice. She was alone with a mad man. They were moving, but it wasn't walking. They were doing something much faster. "Ginny," she heard a whisper. Her frantic mind called out, and she started to struggle with a new fury. Somebody was here, could help her. "Ssstop moving you'll knock me off," came the whisper. It took her mind a moment to identify Sally. It was a comfort. She knew there was absolutely nothing that Sally could do. But Sally was there. Tears of joy leaked out of her eyes. Sally read carefully as relief washed through Ginny and replaced the fear. When she was afraid, Sally was unable to help shape her emotions. Now that relief replaced the fear, Sally replaced some of the relief with calm. "Ginny, Harry knowsss. He knowsss we are in trouble. Maybe he will get help." Hope raised in Ginny. She wanted to tell Sally that she loved her, but her voice was gone. But Sally didn't need words. "I know you love me Rossse, now ssstop before you get me upssset and we both lossse it. Thisss would be Wormtail? Then I can guessssss where we are going. Voldemort isss a Parseltongue isss he not?" Ginny did her best to nod. "Then I need to hide, okay?" Sally went down the collar of Ginny's robes and around her arm, hidden by the sleeve. There was no reason to give up yet.  
  
As he ran, time became unimportant. He might have been running for an hour, he might have only been running five minutes. It didn't matter. All that mattered was speed, and following the pull. Despite he was running much faster then a normal person could, he wasn't closing any distance between himself and the pulling need.  
~*~*~  
I am my own believer, in my heart the reason.  
Now I follow the light from within.  
~*~*~ A funny thing was happening to the pull. As it grew harder, he was becoming more aware of Ginny, not through Sally, but just as Ginny. And as he became more aware, he started to know how she was feeling. There was fear, she was afraid, but not panicking. There was love, mirrored by what he felt from Sally. There was hope in both of them. The entire thing was just like a light burning in his heart. He could have ignored it, but to do so was to kill himself inside. He ran, concentrating on where to put his foot next. And the faster he ran, the more concentration that small task took. But he was hopeful, because the pull hadn't suddenly disappeared and gotten much father away. 'I'm and idiot. They were in a forest. They wanted to move closer to me. Peter ran toward the forest. It all adds up, and I didn't see it. And now they have Ginny. If I have to carve her name on that damn rock...' This thought inspired a new burst of speed. He tried to still his thoughts, only concentrate on the next step. When he thought, the things that popped into his head were never good.  
  
They were slowing down. They were stopping. She couldn't see for a moment, her head hadn't adjusted to the decrease in speed and the position she was in. As things came into focus, she saw a clearing. There was nobody around, nobody visible, but a sense of many who had done horrible things hung in the air. She was jerked upright and set on her feet. Her vision was lost again for a moment. There was another word spoken above her, and she felt her voice return. "You've made a big mistake, Peter!" she yelled. "You lived in my house since I was born and you don't recognize me? A Weasley, Peter! Harry's going to notice if I'm missing. He'll find me!" She was dropped suddenly. She looked up at the little man who had lived in her home under the cover of a rat. She was disgusted. He looked at her, and she glared, and he suddenly looked nervous. He twitched and kept rubbing his cheek in a way that reminded her of scratching whiskers. He glanced at her, at the path they had just come down, and at another path. He seemed to be unable to decide. Finally he walked forward and grabbed her under her arm again, and started to walk towards the path they had just came down. Triumph blossomed in her heart. Then she heard the voice. It wasn't human, it couldn't be, but was still oddly familiar. "Is that you Wormtail?" "Yes Master!" the little man squeaked, turning around again and dragging Ginny past a fire ring and a very high backed chair toward a rectangle marked on the ground with what looked like white chalk. He pushed her into this white rectangle, then turned away. "Did you bring one?" "Yes Master," Peter said, glancing at Ginny. She tried to stand, but she hit her head on something solid. A clear solid box. Peter's beady black eyes were watching something that was coming down the path. Ginny turned to look too, as Voldemort came into view. It was very obviously not Tom Riddle's body, but then again, it didn't have to be. It was however, a person who looked somewhat like Tom. Same black hair. She shivered. His eyes were Harry's eyes, bright green. But there was a hate in those eyes that could never be present in Harry's. He turned to look at her. "This is the one, Wormtail? Well, my my, doesn't she look familiar?" Voldemort walked over to the clear box, and surprising Ginny, reached right through it, pulling her up closer to him "Do you have any idea why I'm going to enjoy killing you?" Anger filled Ginny, replacing any fear she had. "Because I look like Lily Potter." It was the first emotion besides hate that had probably ever been seen in those green eyes. Surprise. He dropped her again. "What is it, Tom? Surprised I know? Don't think I'd know my best friend's mother's name? Didn't know Harry was my best friend?" Peter looked just about ready to pee himself. Voldemort however, smirked. "Let's see, I remember this one. Yes, Harry Potter knows me, he's going to come to get me, he'll save me. I'm from Hogwarts, Dumbledore will get you. I've heard it all." He looked up through the tree line. "At dark, we'll see what you have to say." With that, Voldemort walked back down the path that he had come. Peter collapsed to the ground. With fury in his eyes, he stood up and walked over to where  
  
Ginny sat "Listen here, you little Weasley brat. I'd put another silencing spell on you, but the Master likes to hear you scream. But you will keep your little mouth shut if you know what's good for you." His head was through the solid boundary that she couldn't pass. She spit in his face. Had her arms not still been bound behind her back, she would have hit him. He growled and reached for her. "No, no. Wouldn't want your master's prize damaged would you?" With a glare, he turned away. "So, Peter, Wormtail, whatever. What made you turn? I'm planning on writing a book someday, and you know, this is important dirt." The little man didn't reply. "Oh, come on. I hear your mother was very smothering. You also didn't measure up much to Sirius, James, and Remus. That helped, I'm sure. Plus, you're just a rat." "Shut up!" "You might want to lisssten to him Rossse. We need to plan how to get out of here," Sally whispered from inside Ginny's sleeve. With a sigh, Ginny leaned up against the clear box. She was suddenly very tired, very lonely, and very upset. Tears formed in her eyes, but she held the sobs back, not wanting to give Wormtail that satisfaction.  
  
He was close, so he slowed down. He could feel more now. Not only Ginny and Sally, but the presence of the only other descendent of one of the founders. Voldemort. He moved off the path, keeping it in sight and moving much slower to keep from making noise in the leaves.  
~*~*~  
I'm not afraid of weakness.  
I'm gonna taste the sweetness,  
Of the power not to give it.  
~*~*~ He could feel his body, what it would have been like if he hadn't been supplying it with another source of energy. It didn't matter, he wasn't going to stop. He could fall over and have to crawl and he still wouldn't stop. Before too much longer, he could see into a clearing. There was a large chair in the middle, in front of a stone fire ring. On the other side of the clearing, sat Ginny. She was on the ground, her back to Harry, leaning against something invisible, her hands tied behind her back and her head resting on her knee. Slowly, but more importantly, very quietly, Harry moved around the edge of the clearing. After what seemed like hours, he was in front of her. He could see streaks down her cheeks left from tears, and an odd shaped lump in her sleeve that was most likely Sally. Wormtail walked back into the clearing, muttering to himself. Harry was faced with a problem. How to let Ginny know he was here without alerting Wormtail to the same thing. This was solved for him. Ginny sat up quickly with a gasp, her chin pressing something to her chest. 'The necklace. She always knows when I'm here.' Slowly, he crept out of the trees, hidden under the cover of the invisibility cloak. There was a white rectangle on the ground, and he assumed that was the invisible boundary. To check, careful not to let the cloak come open, he reached out to touch it. His hand went right through. "It was invisible. Anybody else could walk through it and out of it, but it was solid to me." He walked right through the cage, and slowly reached out to touch Ginny's arm. She jumped at first, but she knew it was him. He reached carefully around her to untie her hands. As soon as she was free, she threw her arms around him. "Harry," she just barely whispered. "You have to leave. You're not safe here."  
~*~*~  
Oh, I will see it through.  
I believe this is my moment of truth.  
~*~*~ "And you are?" he whispered back. "I'm going to get you out of here. I promise. Just hold on." Harry let her go, and turned to the white line on the ground. This had to be some kind of variation of the spell that he had done earlier in the year. He just had to figure out how to turn it off. "Harry!" came Ginny's frantic whisper. "Here he comes! Go, hurry!" "Wormtail!" "Y-yes master?" "There is something wrong here. Something with Potter. Are you sure this girl is not from Hogwarts?"  
~*~*~  
Dare to dream.  
~*~*~ "Distract them," Harry whispered. He had an idea. "I told you I am from Hogwarts!" Ginny shouted. "Peter's been taking students for a long time now." Voldemort turned his green eyes from Ginny back to Peter. "Is this so? Have you been disobeying me? Did you not think I would find out? What makes you think that I can't do to you what I've done to every brat that came in here? There isn't much difference between a brat and a rat."  
~*~*~  
Dare to fly.  
~*~*~ Voldemort jerked suddenly, turning around quickly. The white rectangle faded. "Shit," Harry whispered. "I blasted the spell back at the caster. I didn't think he would have cast it himself." Voldemort's eyes narrowed, and an evil smirk came across his face. "Harry Potter, do take off that cloak for me. It isn't polite you know."  
"Harry, Harry run. He can turn you, remember what Sirius said? Go,  
please."  
~*~*~  
Dare to be the heir, the chosen one to touch the sky.  
~*~*~ "No Rose," Harry said pulling off the cloak. "I promised you." Harry glanced at Voldemort, then back at Ginny's scared eyes. He reached behind his neck. For the first time since that faithful day in Ginny's room over the summer, he took off the chain that held his mother's ring.  
~*~*~  
Dare to reach.  
~*~*~ "Rose, I want you to hold this until I get back, okay?" He handed the necklace to her, then stood up again. The sword suddenly felt very warm on his back. "Tom."  
~*~*~  
Dare to rise.  
~*~*~ "Potter, what a surprise. I hadn't planned to kill you for, oh another two weeks at least. But I guess I could make an exception since you're here and all. I'll deal with you later," Voldemort said with a glare at Peter. "What do you want this time, Tom?" "Tom is dead. What do I want? Why, to purify the world, Harry Potter. Noble cause, don't you think? Once you are dead, the fall of Wizards as a whole reverses. We'll kill off the muggles, and rule the world."  
~*~*~  
Find the strength to set my sprit free.  
~*~*~ "I know it all now, Tom. It won't work that way, and you know it. You don't get the gifts if I die, your child does." "But that, Mr. Potter, is where you are wrong. First born with three lines down. Ever heard of rebirth? It requires very little magic, actually. I keep my mind, and I am reborn. Being the first born with three lines down, I get the gifts of the founders, and win the Descendant's War." Harry walked slightly to the left. If anything, he had to get away from Ginny. "But Potter, before I kill you, there is something you took from me that I want back." Harry was confused. Did he mean the Stone? He didn't have it to give back. "You look confused my young friend. Oh, how rude of me. Not offering my guest a place to sit. Do sit down, I insist." Harry was being lifted. He was pulled over to the chair in the middle of the clearing. As he was in the air, his wand flew out of his sleeve, and despite his attempts to grab it, into Voldemort's pocket. Well, at least he was away from Ginny. "Do you really not know? Do you know why you are able to talk to that snake up your friend's sleeve over there?"  
~*~*~  
I will go the distance, embrace resistance.  
~*~*~ "This is the most uncomfortable piece of shit I ever set my bum on," Harry said by way of an answer. "You see Potter," Voldemort went on pretending not to hear Harry. "When that spell backfired, not only did you send it back to me, but you also stole almost all my power. Parseltongue, one of my most prized gifts, lies with you now. Also, my ability to turn into a snake is gone. When I drain a victim, I don't get back my powers, I get theirs. But if I were to drain you, Potter, I would get my gifts, plus yours." "I can't turn into a snake, Tom." "I think you can. You see, what is it you call it, that little block of yours? Well, my theory is that when you stole my powers, some of them were put behind that block. Just a theory, mind." Harry rolled his eyes. "Great, just great. So now, in a few years, not only will I turn into a lion, but a snake too. Life's a bitch. You were right though Rose! I'm really proud of you!" "Enough of the games," Voldemort said with a growl.  
~*~*~  
I will lay my soul on the line.  
~*~*~ "You're completely insane Tom. I'd swear you lose a little bit more of your mind every year. You know, I'd really like to get out of this damn chair. I don't know how you can stand it. Would you kindly let me go?" "Out of the chair? I can do that." Harry was suddenly being lifted again. But this time, instead of being pushed into a chair, he was pushed flat out on the ground.  
~*~*~  
And when the wait is over,  
~*~*~ "Do you know what pain is, Potter? Pain is an emotion. Nothing about pain is evil, bad, or dark, as you all like to put it. Do you know how I learned this?"  
~*~*~  
And the hunger is spoken,  
~*~*~ "No Tom, enlighten me." Harry grunted as he was pushed harder into the ground. "I wasn't too much younger then you. My mother was a descendant, and her protection was lost when I was born, and she died. Not from my birth, no. From a sickness that had chased her, right up to her death. My dirty Muggle father wanted nothing to do with me. I grew up in a Muggle orphanage."  
~*~*~  
If I see it through I will shine.  
~*~*~ "Yeah, yeah, I've heard it all before from that lovely diary you left. Blah, blah, move on." Harry couldn't see Voldemort, but he could hear the monster's smirk in his voice. "Talking back. That was it most of the time. I didn't like to take shit from them. Do you know what the punishment was back then?" Harry was silent this time. He didn't want to push his luck too far. There was a sharp crack behind him, and it sounded way too much like a whip for his comfort. Ginny screamed.  
~*~*~  
Oh, I will see it through.  
~*~*~ "Rose, what the hell are you still here for? Go back. Do I have to spell it out for you. G. O. NOW." "No, Harry, not without you! I'm right behind you, remember?"  
~*~*~  
I believe this is my moment of truth.  
~*~*~ There was another sharp crack, and a string of sharp pain went down Harry's back. Ginny screamed again. Harry pushed his face into the dirt. The whip came again. And again. Harry didn't know he was screaming, but by the state of his throat he must have been. He was more aware of Ginny's screams and cries then his own.  
~*~*~  
Dare to dream.  
~*~*~ He didn't realize that the whip had stopped at first, because the pain was just as intense. His robe had long since fallen off, leaving him in his pants. His back was wet with blood. He wasn't being held to the ground. But he didn't stand. "Girl, here." Ginny was dragged, kicking and screaming, over close to where Harry laid. She moved toward him, but was held back by an invisible force.  
~*~*~  
Dare to fly.  
~*~*~ "Look up Potter." Harry didn't move. It wasn't that he couldn't, if he really wanted to he could have looked at Ginny. But he didn't want to see. "I said look up." He head moved on its own, sending more pain down his back. "She's a very pretty girl, Potter. She looks astonishingly like your mother. Not hard to figure out why you like her so much. In fact, if she weren't so important to you, I'd keep her around for a few days." Harry's breath came in pants and his voice was hoarse from the screaming. "Fuck. You. Tom." "Tom is dead Potter. I killed him myself."  
~*~*~  
Dare to be the heir, the chosen one to touch the sky.  
~*~*~ "When was that?" Harry asked. "Was it when, you killed the, one you loved. Pain is just, an emotion. So is love. But not, for us. For us it's, a bond. And you broke yours, yourself. Didn't you? That's when, Tom died. When you, killed her."  
~*~*~  
Dare to reach  
~*~*~ Harry was flung suddenly against a tree, his back sliding down the bark on the trunk. He yelled out. Sally suddenly came out of Ginny's robes and shot across the clearing. Harry felt as some of the pain started to leave. Not fade, just cut off. "Let's get this done now." Ginny was raised into the air, and Voldemort raised his wand. Time slowed down. Sound stopped.  
~*~*~  
Dare to rise  
~*~*~ Harry shoved off of the tree, shoving magic into his body for speed, and flung across the clearing. He watched as Voldemort's lips moved, forming the word Axynovit. He saw as the spell traveled down the wand. He watched in horror as Ginny's mouth opened in a scream.  
~*~*~  
Find the strength to set my sprit free.  
~*~*~  
He tried to stop it. He sent a blast at Voldemort of pure power, power behind his block. It felt like there was a huge hole ripped through him where the power had come from.  
He watched in sick fascination as Ginny's body fell to the ground.  
The clearing was silent for a moment. He was alone. Voldemort's body was gone, his spirit had probably escaped, and Ginny was, she was-  
He screamed. Not because he was just realizing it, but because something in him, the bond that had led him out here, the one that had grown stronger as he ran, not to Sally but directly to Ginny, snapped.  
He screamed, collapsing. It made sense now. His soul mate. His one. Had been her. And she was gone before he'd realized it.  
And Sally, she couldn't help. She was trying to survive the death of one of her bond mates. She was relying on him to life.  
So he continued to scream. But something was shifting.  
And suddenly, a mental hand reached out and grabbed Harry's heart. A strong hard bond snapped together with a force that made him gasp. And Sally reached out to it, and it grabbed her too.  
Harry stopped screaming, and simply sobbed into the dirt.  
"You didn't get to love her," Sally hissed, coming over to him. "It promisssed that you would, and you didn't, ssso you get another."  
Harry either didn't hear her or wasn't listening as he crawled over to Ginny's fallen body and sobbed.  
  
Draco was sitting in Transfiguration. Bored. As usual. When he suddenly felt sick.  
He shifted in his chair to get more comfortable. He laid his head down. It had come from nowhere. He felt like he was going to lose he lunch. He was about to ask to be excused when something drove him mind completely from his stomach.  
He screamed. Falling to the floor, he stared at the ceiling as he felt himself being pulled. He was needed. Needed so very much. Needed so hard that he screamed again, reaching out with everything he had to that need.  
Something clicked, snapped into place, and it didn't hurt now. But he knew. He knew who, how, where, when. He knew.  
Everybody was crowded around him. "Harry!" he gasped. "In the forest!"  
It was hard to say if he or Professor McGonagall ran out faster.  
But he was young. And despite the way she yelled, he continued to run. She didn't feel this. He didn't need her like this. He didn't pull at her like this. So he ran.  
It was hours, at least, later. He reached the clearing. And he didn't stop running. He ran right into Harry, pulling the sobbing boy away from the body and landing on top of him. He held tight, anything to make the need stop. He was here.  
With several hard breaths, the need stopped. Draco sighed. He thought it was going to drive him crazy.  
And then it hit him. He was laying on top of Harry Potter.  
But the thought was chased out of his head. "She's dead!" Harry cried.  
"I know," Draco answered.  
"Help Sally. Please help her. I can't lose her too. Please, please, Draco."  
Draco stared at him, half shocked by the use of his first name. But then, he reasoned, why be shocked by that when he was laying on top of Harry Potter. He reached out, though the link that had been so faint. He didn't know what he was doing, but he reached. And something grabbed. And he felt her strongly for a moment, before Sally faded out to a mere awareness he knew he would only sense if he consintrated.  
"She'll be fine, Harry."  
"Ginny's dead."  
"I know." Draco rolled off and stood up, and with an involuntary sob fell again. The need had been so intense, and he had barely moved. Harry reached out, and grabbed on to him. Draco stared with a mix of shock and horror as the boy who lived practically crawled into his lap.  
"I need you," he whispered, before he buried his face in Draco's shirt, and sobbed. 


	2. Chapter Two

_(A/N: Plot, no.  Waffy fluff, angst, emotional rollercoaster, physiological confusion, mature themes, romance, sex, yes.  You've been warned.)_

When the professors finally arrived at the clearing, it was nearly dark, and they found a sight that startled them.  Ginny Weasley dead on the ground, and Harry Potter sobbing into Draco Malfoy's lap.

            "I think he's gone into shock," were Draco's first words.  He said nothing about the way Harry had his arms wrapped tightly around him, or the fact that Draco himself looked ill.

            Hooking his arms under Harry's, Draco managed to get him to his feet.  Sally was wrapped around Draco's neck.  And they watched, in a state of shock themselves, as Draco started to lead Harry away.

            The journey back to the castle was a long one.  Draco refused to let anybody carry Harry, and they really didn't want to argue, so they had to keep to the pace of Draco's burdened walk.

            When they arrived at the school, Draco didn't pause.  He kept going, straight inside towards the hospital wing.  The stairs, proved to be a challenge.

            One of the professors moved toward them as if to help.  Something in Draco, however, had awakened, and for a reason he didn't understand he was unwilling to let anybody else touch Harry.  A whispered word under his breath and a shifted hand so he could grab his wand, and Harry's weight was suddenly not such a burden.  He bent down and lifted Harry into his arms, knowing there was no way he would be able to this under normal circumstances.  Harry was larger then he was.

            Harry's head lifted, and he tried to look at Draco's face, but the blonde wouldn't look down at him. 

            They reached the hospital wing minutes later.  He laid Harry on a bed face down, and everybody around him started moving.  He reached over to grab a chair, and felt the pull grab at him the moment he let go.  Sitting down he grabbed Harry's hand, and it stopped hurting.

            They were treating his back, and now Draco wanted nothing more then for Harry to look over, because somehow that would make this all better.  But what was all this?  But Harry had his face buried in the pillow, which was muffling his sobs that restarted the moment Ron had burst in with Hermione, and Professor McGonagall led them away to give them news they never wanted to hear.

            Everything started to blur.  But then there was a hand on Draco's shoulder.  "Mr. Malfoy, you can return to your dorm now.  You could use some sleep."

            Harry wasn't crying, but his face was still buried in the pillow.  Draco would have thought he was asleep if his hand hadn't tightened around Draco's to the point of near pain at the mention of Draco leaving.

            He shook his head.  "Mr. Malfoy," McGonagall began, "there's no-" she cut off when Harry's head turned and looked straight at Draco.

            The pull changed, became slightly different, slightly harder.  Harry needed a little more from him.  Then the pull became mental, emotional, and physical as Harry tugged his arm, pulling Draco to him.

            Draco yielded, his body giving in because his mind had quit working when he collapsed on the floor. Now he was just feeling, something he had tried not to do most his life.

            McGonagall watched in slightly underrated shock as Harry pulled Draco into the bed with him, then buried himself against the blonde and shook with silent tears.  She'd seen too much in one day.  Without another question she let the two be.

            Harry's mind came awake, but he didn't open his eyes yet.  He was in the hospital wing, he knew it right away by the stiff bleached feeling the sheets had.  But he couldn't remember why and he really wasn't in a hurry to.

            There was a sigh, a sigh that was in way too close proximity to him.  His eyes flew open to see Draco, lying on his back and glaring at the ceiling.  His entire posture shouted the fact that he didn't want to be where he was, and yet his left hand was curled tightly around Harry's.

            And all hit him with the force of a train, and he gasped.  Ginny was dead.  He'd failed Ginny and now she was dead.  He'd loved her and hadn't known it and now she was gone.

            "Do _not_ cry again."

            The voice in its calm and firm manner demanded that Harry listen, and he did before he could help himself.  He stared at Draco, not understanding.  He couldn't get past that Ginny was gone.  Rose was _gone._

"Stop thinking about it, idiot.  Think about it later.  Do you think you could make it so I can let go of you without feeling like I can't breathe?"

            It took Harry a moment to find his voice.  "W-w-what d-d-do you m-m-mean?"  Somewhere in the back of his mind he was appalled that he was stuttering in front of Malfoy.

            Draco's fingers uncurled from around his and he pulled away, then with an anguished moan that was from both pain and frustration, reached out and grabbed Harry's arm.  "That's what I mean."

            "Here?" he asked, tapping the area between his collarbones where the skin dipped in.  Draco nodded.  "That's why I went after her, cause she was pulling at me like that.  She needed me…"

            Draco's eyes softened at the look that crossed Harry's face.  "Just, never mind then."

            "Ron?" Harry asked, somehow knowing that Draco would know.

            Draco had to look away and stare at the wall.  "He and Hermione went back to his house some point in the middle of the night.  You're asked to come too as soon as they get your back straightened out."

            "What, about…" _You_, he wanted to say, but he was afraid to ask Draco what was happening.  "Sally," he finished.

            "She was here, I don't know where she is now."

            Harry was about to reach out to her through their bond, when he found something else that made him gasp.  He had a new bond.  It felt tender, raw, like touching it would irritate it more.  "I'm bonded to you," he stated, surprised.

            "Oh, very good, ten points to Gryffindor," Draco responded sarcastically.

            "What happened?"

            Draco's face softened again, and Harry realized that there were two Draco's.  The sarcastic one, and the one that had just called Hermione by her real name for probably the first time in his life.  "Remember that night Sally transferred your Parselmouth gift to me?"  Harry nodded.  "Remember how she said we had a faint link?  Ever since she did that transfer, I've been more aware of that link.  Only if I really tried."  His eyes seemed to ask if Harry had the same awareness.

            He shook his head to the unasked question.  "The only links I've ever noticed were to Sal, and then last night, one to Rose."

            "Perceptive," Draco muttered.  "Well, yesterday I was in class, and that link, sort of, blew up," he said with a shrug, unable to give words to accurately explain what happened.  "And then you started with that pulling stuff and I knew where you were and that I had to get to you."

            "After that?" Harry whispered when Draco didn't continue.

            "It's all kind of blurry after that," he lied.  He remembered very clearly what had happened in the clearing.  It was only after they left it that things got blurry.  He remembered Harry calling him Draco.  He remembered Harry crawling into his lap.  He remembered the whispered words of 'I need you'.

            Harry blinked.  "Sally, she said, she said that I was getting a second chance."

            "I know what she said," Draco spat, and Harry shrank back, knowing that this was that other Draco.  This was Malfoy. 

            "How?"

            "Because I can understand her now.  Because the real reason that Ginny could was because you were bonded to her.  And now you're bonded to me, so I understand her too.  And she kept saying that all night long.  So if you don't mind, I'd rather not think about the fact that now I'm going to have to be your soul mate."

            Harry looked away, and called to Sally.  There were a few minutes of tense silence before Sally arrived.  She came up to Harry and curled around him.  The two of them sat snuggled together, mourning the loss of the third party of their triangle. 

            Draco watched and felt left out, but justified it to himself as disgust.  He let go of Harry, hoping now that Sally was here it wouldn't hurt, but the pull that hit him took his breath away.  It was only stronger now.  He'd reached out and pulled Harry against him before he'd even thought about it.

            "Why can't he let me go?" Harry asked Sally softly in Parseltongue, but then remembered that Draco would understand that.

            "Your bond iss healing."

            "How long will it take?"

            "I don't know, ssorry Harry."  They looked at each other, and slowly tears began to creep down Harry's cheeks.  "I know, Harry, I know."

            "I just can't believe she's gone, Sal."

            "I know, Harry.  It'ss going to be fine.  Jusst let it out."

            Draco watched as Harry broke down, _again_.  He needed to _stop_ doing that.  He reached out and pulled Harry against him, knowing it would help and managing not to cringe.  Anything to make him stop blubbering.

            When Harry woke again, it was to Madam Pomfrey doing something to his back.  It wasn't until then that he became aware of how much it really did hurt.  He was wrapped in Draco's arms, and he blushed hotly when he realized how that must look.  But Draco was fast asleep, and Harry didn't want to move and disturb him if he could help it.

            "Do you have anything for the pain?" he whispered.

            "There's a potion on the bedside table when you want it," she answered just as softly.  She seemed to be making an exception for Draco in Harry's case, allowing him to stay. 

            "When will I be able to go see Ron?"

            "Tonight if you like."

            Harry nodded, and then closed his eyes again, and noticed that Draco smelled like powder and cotton before he fell back asleep.

            "There is _no way_ I'm going to the Weasley's house!" Draco shouted.

            Harry was standing, while Madam Pomfrey wrapped bandages around his back that would last until he got back.  Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape were all watching, once again in shock, and Draco sat on the bed and fought with Harry all the while holding one of his hands.

            "Fine," Harry said, and jerked his hand away, causing Draco to gasp and pale, his hand flying to his collar bones.  "But I _am_ and you're the one who can't handle the pull.  So if you want to stay, it's your choice."

            Draco jumped off the bed and grabbed Harry's whole arm, hugging it hard with a whine until his color returned and his breathing was even.  Then he released all but Harry's hand.  "This is so _bloody_ unfair!  Why doesn't it hurt you too?"

            Harry met Draco's glare with one of his own.  "It does," he answered, in a deathly tone.  Draco blushed.  "Are you coming?"

            "_Fine,_" he growled, sitting back down on the bed without letting go of Harry's hand.

            "Harry?" Dumbledore asked, clearly wanting an explanation.

            "You know the prophesy right Professor?"  Dumbledore nodded.  "Ginny was my soul mate," Harry said softly.  Dumbledore nodded again.  "But I didn't realize it until she was gone.  And because I didn't get to love her, I get another chance," he pointed at Draco with a hot blush.  "Draco was supposed to be my soul mate if I was a girl.  So now we have a bond that's very sore, and the only way it can heal is if he touches me."

            Dumbledore nodded.  "I see.  And how are you handling this?"

            Harry's eyes became sad.  "I don't think I've reached that point yet."  Dumbledore nodded again.  McGonagall looked slightly surprised, sorry, and understanding.  Snape looked blown away.

            "Nobody wants to know how _I'm_ handling this," Draco growled.

            Harry looked at him, his eyes deep pools of green.  "Later, please, Draco?"

            Draco's eyes fell to Harry's feet, feeling ashamed and guilty.  "Yeah."

            They were on a train.  Alone, on a train.  The silence was awful, because it left Harry alone with his thoughts.  Draco had a hand casually against his.  "Talk to me."

            "Why should I?" Draco snapped, almost automatically.

            "I'll let go if you don't."  The threat was empty, and Draco had to know that.  There was a pause.

            "What do you want to talk about?"

            "I don't care.  I don't want to think anymore."

            "Well I don't have anything to talk about," Draco said defiantly.  Silence followed. 

            A few minutes later, Harry couldn't take it anymore.  "Draco?"

            "What?" he answered, agitatedly.

            A cloud passed over his mind as the bond's pull intensified.  Draco watched as Harry's eyes grew dull, and somehow knew what was coming.  Harry crawled out of his seat, over to Draco.  He grunted softly as Harry crawled on top of him, wrapping his arms around Draco's neck.  "I need you," he whispered.

            Draco let out a sigh, holding the other boy close to relieve the weight from around his neck.  "You're such a pain," he complained, but Harry was already asleep.  However, this did make the bond stop aching, for the first time since they'd gotten out of bed, and with the irritating pain finally gone, Draco found it hard to stay awake.

            Somebody was shaking him.  He turned away from it.  Reality was so tiresome.  He liked it here, warm, safe. 

            "Harry."

            That was his name.  He knew it was, but he wanted to pretend it wasn't.  He was warm, he was safe, he was content.  Life didn't have to move forward, it could just linger here in this sleepy haze where nothing is wrong.

            "Potter, for Merlin's sake, _wake up_."

            The order commanded that he listen, and his eyes flew open, and jumped into two silver pools.  He was caught.  Magnetized to the silver liquid.  Caught in it.  Drowning in liquid silver.  Draco blinked.  The spell broke.

            "Get out of my lap, please."  Harry could tell, in the rational part of him that was taking notes, that Draco was going to say that with an attitude, that old Malfoy was going to order Harry from his lap, but it had died when Harry had drown in silver because at the same time Draco had been enchanted by emerald.

            He removed himself from Draco slowly.  But as he pulled their bodies apart, their hands sought each other out and curled together without thought.  "What happened?" Harry asked.  He couldn't remember.

            "Nothing."  Harry didn't push it.  "We're almost there, though.  Train's slowing."

            Draco wasn't sure what he was expecting.  Huge sob piles in the middle of the floor, probably.  Flocks of family members bringing flowers and casseroles and broken 'sorry for your loss' wishes that never helped.

            The house was quiet.  He would have loved a chance to look around and see how the Weasley's really lived, Merlin knows his father talked about it enough, but his attention was too focused on Harry.

            Harry somehow knew where to go.  He walked into what had to be the family room, Draco trailing behind him.  Nine faces looked up when they walked in.  Nine very quiet faces.  Draco froze behind Harry, who stood still.  Sally was on his leg.  It was a bizarre sensation.

            Her parents, all six of her brothers, and Hermione, were all staring.  Not at him, at Harry.  He was almost expecting a riot at his appearance, but nobody seemed to notice him, let alone care.

            Harry dropped his hand.  It was so sudden and so unexpected Draco gasped out loud.  The pull hit him hard, but Harry didn't notice.  Harry was bolting across the room.  Harry was landing in the lap of the woman, pulling her against him.  Harry was dissolving into tears, clutching the woman, apologizing for not saving her daughter.

            _It wasn't his fault!_ Draco wanted to scream.  But the woman didn't need him to tell her that.  She repeated it, over and over, like a mantra, into Harry's hair.  The pain was making Draco sweat.

            Ron and Hermione were clutching each other.  Neither was crying anymore.  Fred and George were on either side of Percy, arms wrapped around him.  Bill and Charlie were on either side of their father, his arms around both of them.  Draco wanted to disappear.  He was interrupting something that wasn't his business.

            He clamped his teeth together.  It hurt.  He knew he was shaking.  He couldn't stop.  This was unfair.  He needed Harry because Harry needed him.  The irony.  Harry was the screwed one and Draco was the one shaking in pain from it.  But he wouldn't give in.  He wasn't going to interrupt.

            Harry started to pull away from Mrs. Weasley.  His face red and smudged and his nose running.  She cupped his cheeks in her hands and kissed him hard, tears still streaming down her face.  Harry started to shake.  Draco hoped it was the bond, not from tears. 

            He climbed out of her lap.   He sat down on the floor near where Hermione and Ron were sitting.  Unable to stop himself from moving, Draco crossed the room and sat beside him.  Without hesitation Harry practically crawled into his lap.  Draco expected an uproar.  He received silence.  Nobody asked, nobody cared.  Sobs resided to silent tears, and the minutes began to tick.

            At first he didn't care.  He was just glad the pain was residing and holding on to Harry for all he was worth.  But when the need for it was gone, he felt uncomfortable.  He wished somebody would talk, anybody.  He was required by blood to hate every person in this room.  He didn't belong here.  And they weren't making any progress just sitting here.

            There was a knock at the door.  Draco jumped up.  "I'll get it," he said, then regretted the words that broke the sacred silence.  The need began to pull, and he mentally screamed at it.  _I'm answering the door, I'll be RIGHT BACK, I promise, SHUT UP._  It didn't help much, but it was tolerable.  He practically ran to the door.

            It was Dumbledore.  He brought news to them about the body.  He started talk about the funeral.  At least it wasn't silence.  Draco held Harry and kept to himself, hoping not to be noticed.

            "Why are you here?" Ron asked suddenly, when Dumbledore paused.  Ron's voice was horse, from crying, Draco supposed.

            "He has to be," Harry answered before Draco could talk.  "I can't let him go for very long.  I'll explain it later."

            "Why not now?"

            Harry opened his mouth, but every face, even Dumbledore's, was looking at him.  A story, an explanation, at the very least a distraction.  He couldn't deny them.

            "There's a prophesy," he started.  The need pulled harder.  Agitatedly, Draco moved closer to Harry, leaned against his back.  "All the stuff with Voldemort, all the things that have happened, all the bull shit that has been the past four years is because of this damn prophesy."

            Draco didn't think he'd ever heard Harry swear before.  He shifted closer, one arm wrapping around the boys middle.  "This prophesy promises me a soul mate.  And a chance to love my soul mate."  His voice broke and he choked on the words.  "And she knew it but I didn't.  And because I didn't realize it, she died before I got a chance to love her back."

            The reactions were mixed.  Hermione didn't look surprised, and Ron looked ready to cry.  The brothers all stared at Harry with something akin to a respect and pity mixture.  The parents both stared at walls.

            "But a prophesy always comes true."  He laughed bitterly at the irony.  "So I get a 'second chance'.  The back up plan.  My bond to Ginny moved to Draco.  But it's sore.  Physical contact is the only thing that keeps it from hurting."

            Ron was glaring at him.  Draco was glad that Harry's body hid him from the rest of them.  "He'll never replace her," Ron spat.

            Harry looked at his best friend.  Harry's eyes took the spit out of Ron. Eyes that cried louder then any sobs ever could.  "I know, Ron."

            Sickeningly, Draco felt like something in him died.

            The day was a blur.  Mostly.  Some things were painfully clear.  Somehow everybody ended up in a room, and Draco and Harry were left with the middle room. Ron had protested loudly.  He didn't want them alone together.  Nobody had listened and eventually Hermione had led him away.

            Draco was laying on the couch.  Harry was still pacing by the fire and Draco thought it best to leave him be.  Granted it hurt and Harry had to walk over and touch Draco ever moment or two to keep the pain from becoming too much, but they were otherwise ignoring each other.

            Draco noticed Harry stopped, and looked up to see why.  Harry was staring at a clock.  At first this didn't seem to be a big deal, until Draco realized there were no times on the clock.  It held all the Weasleys.  Ginny's hand was spinning around and around.  It couldn't find her, it didn't know what she was doing, it didn't know where she was. 

            He wasn't surprised when Harry walked over and climbed on top of him.  He shifted the larger boy so his weight was even across his body, wrapped his arms around him, and allowed the green eyes to drop tears on to his shoulder.  Even with Harry crying, he let out a relieved sigh.  Touching every thirty seconds or so would keep the pain from becoming too much, but it was nothing like what this kind of contact did.  Not only did it relieve the pain, it almost made it feel good; feel, comforting. 

            "I'm sorry," Harry said, pulling away to look up at Draco.  His eyes were red and his face was wet and tear streaked. 

            "It's fine," Draco said, wondering where his patience had suddenly come from. 

            "No, I'm sorry it had to be you.  I'm sorry you had to become this for me.  I'm sorry I had to make your life change like this.  I wish I didn't have this effect on people."

            Draco took a deep breath.  "I'm not."

            Harry stared.  "You're not what?"

            "Sorry.  That I had to become this for you."  He heard the words coming from his mouth, but it was almost as if they were from another person.  His mind had just shut off. No logic or restrictions applied now, anything was possible.

            "You're not?"

            Draco shook his head.  "Part of me always wanted it.  Now all of me wants it, and feels like it always has."

            "Wants what?"  His tears had died with his confusion.

            "I don't know," Draco admitted.  "Maybe to be this for you."

            Harry wasn't sure why.  He wasn't even sure how.  He was just pulled in by those magnets of eyes.  Pulled in until his lips pressed against Draco's.  His mind shut off instantly.  The bond pulled them, pulled their lips together harder, pulled him to press against Draco, pulled Draco to hold him tight.  He'd never known passion before, his mind wasn't in order enough to recognize it now.  But this was perhaps beyond passion.  This was survival.

            They both felt the bond change.  Heal slightly.  The conscious parts of them knew it wasn't enough to keep it from hurting, but it was progress.  Draco's tongue swept across Harry's bottom lip.  The raven haired boy jerked back.  Not in surprise from Draco's tongue but from a shock that had shot across the bond.  His hand flew up to rest between his collar bones, staring at Draco.

            Draco stared back for a minute, feeling the same thing.  He blinked.  Then his mind suddenly turned back on.  Completely disgusted with himself, he pushed Harry off of him and stood.  He walked over to the other couch and laid down, closing his eyes to make it clear he intended to sleep.

            Somehow he wasn't surprised when Harry crawled on top of him.  Draco wrapped his arms carefully around Harry, mindful that Harry's back was badly mangled.  Harry's entire body started to shake, almost as if he was shivering.  Draco tried to hold him tighter but Harry's shaking didn't stop, a slight vibration of his entire body.

            Draco turned to his side, pushing himself against the back of the couch; Harry beside him.  The couch was just wide enough, though Draco figured if he let go Harry would fall off.  He tilted Harry's face up.  Harry's eyes were closed.

            "You're shaking, Potter."

            "I, I can't help it, Draco."  He kept his eyes screwed shut.  He knew what would happen if he opened them.  He knew that those magnets would pull him right back in.

            It was odd, how Draco just knew exactly what would make the shaking stop.  And yet, he hesitated.  A great deal of him completely objected.  He had to shut that part of his mind off.

            The first time it had been unavoidable; and force beyond either of them.  But this kiss, was very deliberate, on Draco's part.  He cupped Harry's cheek with the hand that wasn't holding him up.  Angling Harry's face correctly, he pressed his lips softly yet firmly against Harry's.

            Harry gasped, which opened both his mouth and his eyes.  Draco kept his eyes shut, not wanting to be caught in that trap again.  The arm holding Harry pulled him closer, but his shaking continued.  Draco pushed his tongue past Harry's lips, deepening their kiss.  Harry's hands fisted into Draco's shirt, holding tightly as if he were afraid to be dropped.  With a soft noise in the back of Harry's throat, his shaking intensified to a hard shudder, then stopped completely.

            Draco removed his tongue, and slowly pulled his lips from Harry's, their breath mingling together between them.  Cautiously, he opened his eyes, prepared to shut them should he get caught in that pull.

            But Harry's eyes were shut again.  His eyes shut, his hands still clutching at Draco's shirt, he hid his face in the other boy's neck. 

            "Go to sleep, Harry," Draco whispered.  He knew he wouldn't be awake much longer.


End file.
